Hike for George

July 25, 2014 | Melanoma International Foundation

My name is Richard Brown and this is my best friend of 32 years, George Webber. He is standing on top of Eagle Cap Mountain in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of Northeastern, Oregon. It is August 17th, 2011 and we are having another peak experience. What we both don’t know is that George will be diagnosed with Stage IV melanoma less than four months later and will pass away six months after that.

George was cremated with his hiking stick and a copy of John Muir’s The Mountains of California, a book he had purchased to read in preparation of our Next Adventure (www.nextadventure.net), a backpacking trip in the Sierra Mountains of California in the summer of 2013. A trip we never took.

To honor George and to raise money for the Melanoma International Foundation, I will be hiking for George on California’s John Muir Trail from Yosemite National Park to Mt. Whitney, 212 miles from start to finish. Together, let’s raise $10,000 for MIF! I’ve donated the first $50 to get things started. Match me or go beyond. Any amount is appreciated. I have already begun training through Nia Technique (www.nianow.com), my favorite dance workout for building strength, stability, and flexibility that I will surely need on the trail. The hike will begin July 25th and end on top of Mt. Whitney August 17th, 2014.